Houzz Tours
My Houzz: Eclectic English Cottage in the Hollywood Hills
Bold colors, a diverse art collection and a romantic, rambling garden create a special home in the historic Outpost Estates
Outpost Estates was created in the 1920s by developer Charles E. Toberman, nicknamed “the Father of Hollywood” for his role in developing many of the area’s landmarks, such as the Hollywood Bowl and Grauman’s Chinese Theater. On roughly 1,000 acres of hillside land, Toberman created a luxurious and modern residential neighborhood with one of the first-ever underground utility lines. The development’s motto was “Hillside Homes of Happiness,” and for Helena Paulin and her husband, their country-cottage-style home is exactly that. “For us, the house represents peace and relaxation,” Paulin says of the home, which has the advantage of being set back from the street on a large, flat lot. “Some weekends, we never leave and it’s like a mini vacation. That’s the loveliest of all.”
Outpost remains one of the most sought-after neighborhoods among celebrities who want the peace of the hills yet the proximity to the studios. One of Toberman’s many strict requirements for residences in Outpost was that lots had to be more than 10,000 square feet to preserve the hillside’s forest-like beauty. This view of the canyon from the side of Paulin’s house shows how Toberman’s vision remains a reality.
Toberman advertised his dream community with a now-vanished sign. It rivaled the neighboring Hollywood sign with its large, red neon letters. In fact, it was the largest neon sign in the country before it was dimmed during World War II for defensive reasons. Today, this tiled wall marks the community’s boundary at the foot of the hill.
Paulin and her husband don’t have a particular design style, but they’re heavily influenced by their respective families’ passions for art, music and the decorative arts.
“Many people in my family and my husband’s family have been artists, designers and musicians, so we are surrounded by a variety of cultural influences,” Paulin says. “We love to mix modern with antique and store-bought with flea market finds, as it creates a feeling of comfort.”
The living room’s centerpiece is the bay window, which overlooks the pool. “What anchors this room for me is the Norton Wisdom oil painting to the right of the window,” Paulin says. “It was the first painting I purchased to start my own personal art collection 20 years ago. My father accompanied me on this memorable occasion, so it has lots of sentimental value.”
Paulin uses the same orange, red, green and blue palette throughout the first floor. “It’s sort of my own personal palette, and a lot of my clothes and personal items have these colors,” she says. Many of the couple’s inherited and collected pieces can be seen here.
The 1800s trunk underneath the window and Gustavian side table are both heirlooms from Paulin’s grandmother. The Louis XIV-style side chairs are flea market finds re-covered with fabric from Diamond Foam & Fabric.
“Many people in my family and my husband’s family have been artists, designers and musicians, so we are surrounded by a variety of cultural influences,” Paulin says. “We love to mix modern with antique and store-bought with flea market finds, as it creates a feeling of comfort.”
The living room’s centerpiece is the bay window, which overlooks the pool. “What anchors this room for me is the Norton Wisdom oil painting to the right of the window,” Paulin says. “It was the first painting I purchased to start my own personal art collection 20 years ago. My father accompanied me on this memorable occasion, so it has lots of sentimental value.”
Paulin uses the same orange, red, green and blue palette throughout the first floor. “It’s sort of my own personal palette, and a lot of my clothes and personal items have these colors,” she says. Many of the couple’s inherited and collected pieces can be seen here.
The 1800s trunk underneath the window and Gustavian side table are both heirlooms from Paulin’s grandmother. The Louis XIV-style side chairs are flea market finds re-covered with fabric from Diamond Foam & Fabric.
“This painting by my mother-in-law is called A Night at Carnegie Hall 1965,” Paulin says. “We think Leonard Bernstein is conducting. The fun part of this painting is that she painted in many of the family members as part of the audience and a few other whimsical icons like Marilyn Monroe and John Kennedy.”
Danish midcentury shelf and mirror: found at auction; pillows: Svenkst Tenn
Danish midcentury shelf and mirror: found at auction; pillows: Svenkst Tenn
The classic mantel is framed with a midcentury painting and a deconstructed guitar by an art teacher from UCLA and lined with painted glass bottles. “The glass bottles are by my great-aunt Ida Paulin, a decorative arts artist in postwar Germany. She studied in the school of Oscar Karkoshka, an artist who made a living painting glassware across Europe,” Paulin says.
The area leading into the large den had an old-fashioned, curvy built-in bookcase that Paulin redid. “I was actually inspired by a photograph on Houzz,” she says. “I wanted to update it with straight modern lines and fell in love with this orange background color. It’s a nice complement to the honey-colored floors as well as the other woods in the house. My husband and I use this room as a library and sitting area.”
Bertoia Diamond club chair and ottoman: Design Within Reach
Bertoia Diamond club chair and ottoman: Design Within Reach
An 800-square-foot expansion was completed in the 1980s and includes the den, dining area and a second-story master suite.
The couple use the large den as an entertainment and music room. “Since my husband is a musician, he often plays music with his friends in this room, which opens up to our garden patio,” Paulin says. Bold-colored furnishings and artwork punctuate the open space.
Couch: covered in Marharam boucle fabric; curtains: Ikea; coffee table: designed by Paulin’s furniture designer cousin, Lars Hofsjö; lounge chair: Eames; leather lamps: Phillips Electronics 1960; lampshades: redone in Svenkst Tenn Birch Tree fabric
Couch: covered in Marharam boucle fabric; curtains: Ikea; coffee table: designed by Paulin’s furniture designer cousin, Lars Hofsjö; lounge chair: Eames; leather lamps: Phillips Electronics 1960; lampshades: redone in Svenkst Tenn Birch Tree fabric
“The artwork we have collected is a mix of items from auction and family artists. We basically look for things we love,” Paulin says.
“I wanted our dining room to be simple and neutral to allow the garden to be the background painting,” Paulin says. She has furnished it sparingly with family heirlooms. “The table was a wedding gift to my parents from my grandaunt, and the side chairs are from my grandmother’s country home in Sweden.”
Pendant lights: Design Within Reach
Pendant lights: Design Within Reach
The kitchen was remodeled in 2000 with custom cabinetry and Viking appliances. It opens onto the dining area.
Upstairs in the master suite, the couple went for a simple and comfortable design approach. “The purpose of this room is sleep. We don’t even have a TV,” Paulin says. “We’ve decorated with a few midcentury Danish pieces and this painting by my husband’s uncle, another artist family member.”
Paulin redid the lampshade on the dresser in this room in fabric that echoes the Louis XIV chairs downstairs. “I love how it brings in the colors from downstairs and complements the wood of the lamp base,” she says. “The small wooden bird was given to me by my aunt many years ago, and I started collecting wooden birds ever since.”
A splash of blue tile breaks up the cool, white master bathroom. “Blue is one of my favorite colors and I loved the thought of having the feeling of a pool and an oasis in the bathroom,” Paulin says. The vanity and white shelves are custom. “The artworks are some of the first pieces I ever bought, at a student art sale,” Paulin adds.
Birds by Kristen Vadel, Architectmade
Birds by Kristen Vadel, Architectmade
The smallest bedroom serves as a cozy guest room.
This bathroom features custom shelving of MDF, which was inspired by a design she saw at Home Depot. “It was priced at $1,200, but I had my cabinetmaker knock it off for much less,” she says. The mirror slides from left to right.
The third bedroom is used as her husband’s study. His father’s trumpet is proudly displayed on the top shelf of the built-ins.
The fourth bedroom is used as Paulin’s study, where the orange and red hues of her palette can be seen. “I spruced up the $20 lamp with fabric I bought in Sweden to redo the lampshade,” she says. A picture of her rescued dachshund, Oreo, serves as her computer screensaver.
The front yard features soothing canyon views and a pool that was added in 2001.
The pool’s modern lines contrast nicely with the adjoining garden.
The grounds are fully landscaped, and much of the slope surrounding the house has been claimed by a circular path that loops around the property. The view from the pool shows one end of the path.
Though the couple go for bold, colorful artwork indoors, they prefer a more coordinated palette of whites, pinks and lavenders for the garden. The side pathway is edged with pink hydrangeas, lupines, potato vines and iceberg roses.
Paulin also likes to try new plants, like these irises, in the garden. “I planted them two years ago and nothing came of them. Surprisingly, they shot up this spring. It was amazing to finally see them in full bloom after so long,” she says.
Paulin also likes to try new plants, like these irises, in the garden. “I planted them two years ago and nothing came of them. Surprisingly, they shot up this spring. It was amazing to finally see them in full bloom after so long,” she says.
From this outdoor dining area at the back, French doors lead to the music and entertainment room. “The layout of the house is really great for entertaining guests,” Paulin says.
A dramatic stacked-stone fireplace invites outdoor lounging. “It was custom-made by a stonemason from Ojai,” Paulin says.
“Teak furniture can be expensive to maintain if you want to preserve the honey color and not have the weathered look,” she says. “I actually got a quote for $5,000 from a painter. I simply wash the pieces myself with a deck scrub and then brush with teak oil,” she says.
“Teak furniture can be expensive to maintain if you want to preserve the honey color and not have the weathered look,” she says. “I actually got a quote for $5,000 from a painter. I simply wash the pieces myself with a deck scrub and then brush with teak oil,” she says.
To the left of the fireplace is the other entrance to the circular climbing path. The fence is handmade from Killarney strawberry tree branches.
Midway up the path is a secondary lounge area with club chairs, ottomans and a hammock. “I’ve slowly been ripping out the ivy myself over the last three years,” Paulin says of the area just above the chairs. She plans to fill it with Lucerne blue-eyed grass.
The long-term goal is to have all the ivy removed and replaced with drought-tolerant plants and succulents. “I have a very large area to landscape and many of my plants come from Home Depot when they are having a sale,” she says. “It’s a great way to cover large areas and not spend too much.”
The long-term goal is to have all the ivy removed and replaced with drought-tolerant plants and succulents. “I have a very large area to landscape and many of my plants come from Home Depot when they are having a sale,” she says. “It’s a great way to cover large areas and not spend too much.”
Farther along the path is this arch. Paulin, who says the garden is a constant work in progress, plans to plant climbing white jasmine over it.
The apex of the path has a lookout point to enjoy the stunning canyon views.
Shrubs in varying shades of green line the final leg of the path.
The couple also make use of the land beyond the fence. Here is one of three loquat trees that grace the edge of the property. “They produce a lot of fruit, which I use to make a thick paste that is fantastic to serve on a cheese board,” Paulin says.
Paulin in her garden.
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See more of this home
My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
Browse more homes by style: Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes | Guesthouses | Homes Around the World | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Small Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
Who lives here: Helena Paulin and her husband
Location: Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California
Size: 2,200 square feet (204 square meters); four bedrooms, three baths
“My mom was passionate about flowers and gardening and creating outdoor living spaces,” says Helena Paulin, a digital marketing executive and native of Sweden. “She was an inspiration to me, and I sought to replicate my childhood environment when I relocated to Los Angeles.”
Paulin was introduced to Outpost Estates by her sister, who had a home there. “I was hooked on the idea of living in the hills and enjoying the best of city living with country living,” she says.